Case Studies Analysing Social Survey Data Roxanne Connelly Thesis submitted for the degree

332 Pages·2014·3.66 MB·English

by  Theresa Sommer

Social Stratification and Education:
Case Studies Analysing Social Survey Data

Roxanne Connelly

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
School of Applied Social Science
University of Stirling
2013
Author’s Declaration

I declare that this thesis is a presentation of my original work and has not been submitted for any
other degree or award. The work was completed under the supervision of Professor Vernon Gayle
and Professor Paul Lambert and conducted at the University of Stirling, Scotland.

Roxanne Connelly

i
Abstract

Social Stratification is an enduring influence in contemporary societies which shapes many
outcomes over the lifecourse. Social Stratification is also a key mechanism by which social
inequalities are transmitted from one generation to the next. This thesis presents a set of inter-
related case studies which explore social stratification in contemporary Britain. This thesis focuses
on the analysis of an appropriate set of large scale social survey datasets, which contain detailed
micro-level data.

The thesis begins with a detailed review of one area of social survey research practice which has
been neglected, namely the measurement and operationalisation of ‘key variables’. Three case
studies are then presented which undertake original analyses using five different large-scale social
survey resources. Throughout this thesis detailed consideration of the operationalisation of
variables is made and a range of statistical modelling approaches are employed to address middle
range theories regarding the processes of social stratification.

Case study one focuses on cognitive inequalities in the early years of childhood. This case study
builds on research which has indicated that social stratification impacts on the cognitive perform-
ance of young children. This chapter makes the original contribution of charting the extent of social
inequalities on childhood cognitive abilities between three British birth cohorts. There are clear
patterns of social inequality within each cohort. Between the cohorts there is also evidence that
the association between socio-economic advantage and childhood cognitive capability have
remained largely stable over the post-war period, in spite of the raft of policy measures that have
been floated to tackle social inequality.

Case study two investigates the recent sociological idea that there is a ‘middle’ group of young
people who are absent in sociological inquiries. This chapter sets out to explore the existence of a
‘middle’ group based on their socio-economic characteristics. This case study focuses on school
GCSE examination performance, and finds that performance is highly stratified by parental
occupational positions. The analysis provided no persuasive evidence of the existence of a
‘middle’, mediocre or ordinary group of young people. The analytical benefits of studying the full
attainment spectrum are emphasised, over a priori categorisation.

Case study three combines the analysis of intra-generational and inter-generational status
attainment perspectives by studying the influences of social origins, educational attainment and
cognitive abilities across the occupational lifecourse. This case study tests theoretical ideas
regarding the importance of these three areas of influence over time. This case study therefore
presents a detailed picture of social stratification processes. The results highlight that much more
variation in occupational positions is observed between individuals, rather than across an individ-
ual’s lifecourse. The influence of social origins, educational attainment and cognitive ability on
occupational positions appear to decrease across an individual’s occupational lifecourse.

A brief afterword that showcases a sensitivity analysis is presented at the end of the thesis. This
brief exposition is provided to illustrate the potential benefit of undertaking sensitivity analyses
when developing research which operationalises key variables in social stratification. It is argued
that such an activity is beneficial and informative and should routinely be undertaken within
sociological analyses of social surveys. The thesis concludes with a brief reflection on large-scale
survey research and statistical modelling and comments on potential areas for future research.
Acknowledgements

This work was supported by an Economic and Social Research Council Studentship.

I would like to thank all the survey respondents from the five social survey datasets analysed in
this thesis. I would also like to thank those who have funded these data collection endeavours,
and the UK Data Service for providing me with these data.

I gratefully acknowledge my supervisors Professor Vernon Gayle and Professor Paul Lambert for
their outstanding support throughout this process. I will forever be indebted to Vernon and Paul for
everything which they have taught me.

I am also grateful to Dr Chris Playford, Dr Kevin Ralston and Dr Susan Murray for their compan-
ionship and encouragement.

Finally I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement.
Publications arising from this thesis

The following is a list of peer-reviewed publications that are based on empirical work in this thesis:

Connelly, R. (2012). Social Stratification and Cognitive Ability: An assessment of the influence of
childhood ability test scores and family background on occupational position across the lifespan.
In Lambert, P., Connelly, R., Blackburn, R., & Gayle, V (Eds.). (2012). Social Stratification: Trends
and Processes (pp. 101-114). Farnham: Ashgate.

Connelly, R., Murray, S. & Gayle, V. (2013). Young People and School GCSE Attainment:
Exploring the 'Middle'. Sociological Research Online, Vol. 18, No. 1.
Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 16
2. Modelling Key Variables in Social Science Research: Measures of Occupation, Education and
Ethnicity .................................................................................................................................. 20
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 20
2.2 Occupation ................................................................................................................... 24
2.2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 24
2.2.2 Occupation Versus Income ............................................................................. 26
2.2.3 Coding Occupational Data .............................................................................. 28
2.2.4 Social Class Schemes ..................................................................................... 30
2.2.5 Social Stratification Scales .............................................................................. 38
2.2.6 ‘Microclass’ Approaches .................................................................................. 42
2.2.7 The Great British Class Survey ....................................................................... 44
2.2.8 Relationships with Demographic Structure and Social Changes ..................... 47
2.2.9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 52
2.3 Education ..................................................................................................................... 54
2.3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 54
2.3.2 Measures of Education .................................................................................... 56
2.3.3 Further Complications in Studying Educational Measures .............................. 66
2.3.4 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 71
2.4 Ethnicity ........................................................................................................................ 73
2.4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 73
2.4.2 Data on Ethnicity ............................................................................................. 76
2.4.3 Change Over Time .......................................................................................... 81
2.4.4 Measurement Approaches .............................................................................. 82
2.4.5 Relationships to Other Categories ................................................................... 84
2.4.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 88
2.5 Statistical Modelling of Social Science Variables ......................................................... 88
2.5.1 The Reference Category Problem ................................................................... 88
2.5.2 Spuriousness, Collinearity and Effect Summaries ........................................... 89
2.5.3 Interactions ...................................................................................................... 91
2.5.4 Nonlinear Transformations .............................................................................. 92
2.6 Documentation for Replication ..................................................................................... 93
2.7 Sensitivity Analysis ....................................................................................................... 95
2.8 Overall Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 97
3. Cognitive Inequality in the Early Years: Three British Birth Cohorts ....................................... 99
3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 99
3.2 Cognitive Ability .......................................................................................................... 101
3.3 The Context for Change in Cognitive Inequality ......................................................... 104
3.4 Data and Methodology ............................................................................................... 105
3.4.1 Structural Equation Modelling........................................................................ 105
3.4.2 The British Birth Cohort Studies .................................................................... 107
3.4.3 Measures of Cognitive Ability ........................................................................ 112
3.4.4 Measuring Social Advantage ......................................................................... 115
3.4.5 Structure of Analysis ..................................................................................... 119
3.5 Results ....................................................................................................................... 120
3.5.1 National Child Development Study ................................................................ 121
3.5.2 British Cohort Study ...................................................................................... 123
3.5.3 Millennium Cohort Study ............................................................................... 123
3.5.4 Cross Cohort Comparisons ........................................................................... 128
3.6 Discussion and Conclusions....................................................................................... 131
4. Social Stratification and School GCSE Attainment: Exploring the 'Middle' ............................ 136
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 136
4.2 The ‘Missing’ Middle ................................................................................................... 140
4.3 The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) .......................................... 145
4.3.1 GCSE Results and Gender ........................................................................... 146
4.3.2 GCSE Results and Social Advantage ........................................................... 147
4.3.3 GCSE Results and Ethnicity .......................................................................... 148
4.3.4 Measuring School GCSE Attainment ............................................................ 149
4.4 Exploring the ‘Middle’ with the British Household Panel Data .................................... 150
4.4.1 The British Household Panel Survey ............................................................. 151
4.4.2 Structure of Analysis (BHPS) ........................................................................ 154
4.4.3 Explanatory Variables (BHPS) ...................................................................... 155
4.4.4 The Consequences of ‘Middle’ Level GCSE Attainment (BHPS) .................. 156
4.4.5 Characterising ‘Middle’ Level GCSE Attainment (BHPS) .............................. 159
4.4.6 Further Exploring the ‘Middle’ (BHPS) ........................................................... 163
4.5 Exploring the ‘Middle’ with the Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales ................ 171
4.5.1 The Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales ............................................ 172
4.5.2 Structure of Analysis (YCS) ........................................................................... 173
4.5.3 Explanatory Variables (YCS) ......................................................................... 174
4.5.4 The Consequences of ‘Middle’ Level GCSE Attainment (YCS) ..................... 176
4.5.5 Characterising ‘Middle’ Level GCSE Attainment (YCS) ................................. 179
4.5.6 The Growing ‘Middle’ Group? (YCS) ............................................................. 186
4.5.7 Further Exploring the ‘Middle’ ........................................................................ 188
4.6 Discussion and Conclusions....................................................................................... 203
5. Education, Ability and Social Origins Across the Occupational Lifespan .............................. 206
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 206
5.2 Meritocracy ................................................................................................................. 210
5.3 Linking Inter- and Intra-generational Mobility Analysis ............................................... 212
5.4 Longitudinal Processes: Cognitive Ability, Education and Social Background Across the
Lifecourse ................................................................................................................... 215